A body had been found in the desert, near the Mexican border. With Lisbon in the middle of the Ardiles phone-tapping situation, Abbott sent Cho, Fischer, and Jane to investigate. The team started in Juarez, with Cho and Fischer traveling from the airport to meet up with Jane and his newly purchased Airstream near the marketplace.

Jane invited his friends inside for a tour - and to discuss the case in his office-on-wheels. As they got settled, Jane presented Cho with a brown paper bag from the market. Curiously, Kimball unfolded the bag and looked inside.

"Mexican jumping beans?! I used to love these things. I'd forgotten all about them."

"How did you know?" Kim looked at Jane, curious - especially after Cho said he'd never told Jane about his affinity for the beans.

"Well, knowing what people secretly want is what I do"

"Really? What do I secretly want?" Kim asked, with some flirtation.

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" Jane flirted back.

"Tell me!"

"Well, how about I do one better? I'll just get you one? It'll be my little gift to you?" He sparkled.

"One what?" Kim goaded. She really wanted to know if he could guess.

BANG BANG BANG!

The waltz of words was interrupted by a knock at the airstream door, to Cho's utter relief - he was growing uncomfortable with the conversation between his colleagues and was glad for the excuse to exit the vehicle. At the door were the Federales, arriving to aid in the investigation.

Jane left, with one of the Mexican officers, to nose around a makeshift junkyard where the body had been found. Kim stayed in the Airstream, going over papers at the smallish table. Cho called to check in with Lisbon.

"How's Mexico?" Teresa asked

"It's Mexico." Cho answered flatly. "And it's hot. I think my face is melting."

"I'm sorry to hear that!" Lisbon laughed. "How goes the investigation?"

"Jane's with the Federales, looking around at the body dump site. Kim's checking the reports. I'm trying to find somewhere to put the Mexican jumping beans Jane bought me from the marketplace."

"Jumping beans?!"

"Yeah! I used to love them. No idea how Jane knew that, but I stopped asking questions years ago, so…"

"Relatable! How's Fischer handling him?"

"Seems to be handling him quite well. With all the thinly veiled flirtation, I almost had to step outside - it was starting to feel like a middle school dance."

"Oh." Lisbon successfully maintained an even tone, but was glad Cho could not see the dejected expression on her face. "Well, keep me in the loop with any case-related developments!"

"Of course, boss."

Great. Flirting. And Cho noticed, too, so it hadn't just been a figment of her imagination. Teresa hoped Kimball had gotten her emphasis on the last sentence. She wanted to hear case-related information, not more about Jane and Kim's apparent chemistry.

The investigation eventually led to Gadsden Grove, a separatist farm in Gentry, Texas.

Jane had found a tunnel, back in Juarez, leaving Cho and Kim to wonder where he had gone. The two agents had flown back to Texas, and were driving to check out a stateside lead when Kim got a call from Patrick.

"Jane! Tell me where you are - We'll drive to meet you."

"Well, I don't exactly know where I am. Can't you just hone in on my phone location? Doesn't the FBI have toys for that?"

"Sure, hang tight." Kim rolled her eyes at the toys comment.

"No problem. There's not much else to do out here." Jane quipped from just underneath the portal to the US side of the tunnel.

Cho parked the car at the apparent location of Jane's phone, seeing nothing but desert and a lonely metal ranch sign. With puzzlement, the two agents exited the car and climbed over the attached fence to get closer to the phone signal. Just as Kim started to panic, thinking that Jane was in serious trouble and had dropped his phone here in the process, a rifle-toting rancher approached, demanding they leave.

"This is private land!"

"FBI." Cho replied, showing his badge.

"I do not recognize your authority. Leave now!"

In the middle of the negotiations, Kim's phone rang. Jane was asking to be put on speaker.

"Listen everybody, we can work this out… No matter what happens… No matter WHAT happens… PLEASE… Don't shoot!"

As he said those last words, the agents and the rancher turned quickly, when a three-foot section of the ground began to rise. Under some sand and a patch of sagebrush, Jane emerged from his subterranean tunnel through a camouflaged trap door, hidden by the desert floor.

Back at the FBI, Jane and the team shared what they had each uncovered about the case.

The murder victim was identified as a 70's era leftist lawyer named Edith Furloch. The theory was that she'd been killed in Gentry, Texas at Gadsden Grove, a 'free citizens farm' near Jane's tunnel to Mexico. The supposition was that the killer had used said tunnel to dump the body across the border in Juarez.

As the agents exited the conference room, Lisbon caught the end of a conversation between Kim and Jane. She wanted to be sure and catch any case-related detail the two may share - especially since she'd been unable to travel to the scene with them.

"So, you agree with me?" Jane smiled at Kim, with self-congratulation.

"Yes."

"I won't tell anyone if you don't." He teased, with a sparkling grin that set off the most glorious blush on Agent Fischer's cheeks.

Lisbon suddenly changed direction to distance herself from the flying hormones that threatened to impale her heavy heart. Taking an extra lap around the fishbowl, to work off some of her alarm at having overheard a more intimate conversation than she'd expected, she noticed Jane was now in the conference room, handing out items wrapped in white tissue paper. She wasn't sure if this was part of his plan for the case, or a prank he was pulling, but reasoned that if he'd wanted to involve her, he would have said so - They had been nearly shoulder to shoulder only moments ago. So, she just observed the proceedings from the other side of the glass wall.

The meeting had all the hallmarks of a Christmas party, as shredded tissue paper was thrown everywhere all at once. It seemed that Jane had gotten each team member a gift they had secretly wanted since childhood. Cho was holding his bag of jumping beans, that Jane had bought him in Juarez. Wylie was thrilled to have gotten a Tamagotchi. Abbott laughed out loud as he opened a Transformers action figure he had always wanted: Voltron. Last but not least, Jane handed a specially wrapped gift to Kim, with a flourish and a sparkling smile. Inside the cardboard tube was a plastic wand. The magic kind, complete with a bedazzled star on the top.

Lisbon felt a choke as the lump in her throat grew. Jane had always been magical. Now that magic was directed toward Kim Fischer. Compounding her somber feelings, Lisbon noted that everyone on the team had been given a thoughtful gift from Jane. Everyone on the team except for her, that is.

Teresa quashed her emotions. It was crushing that she was the only one in the bullpen without a Jane gift. But her heartache was caused less by the empty space on her desk where a gift should be, and more by the cavernous void in her heart that used to house the knowledge that, to Jane, she was unforgettable; Less about the absence of a gift, and more about the absence of 'the thought that counts.' Despite the tentative nature of their current partnership, she had still viewed herself as his top priority, his partner, and closest friend. She couldn't deny that, in her mind, he was definitely still all those things to her. She would never have left him out - He would have been first on her list, honestly. She had always thought that Jane felt the same way about her, and the realization that she had apparently been wrong about that was absolutely heart wrenching.

On top of that, amplifying her misery and anxiety, she felt like everyone on the team was staring at her. She was sure they all had noticed, and some were offering her not-so-subtle looks of pity. It was well-known to all, at the FBI field office, how she had dropped everything to come to Austin. How she had dropped everything, for Jane. And now he wouldn't even look at her. She felt so completely ignored by the one who usually looked for her around every corner. The one whose eyes always managed to find hers from across a room. She felt the full weight of having fallen to the bottom of his priority list - if her name even remained on that list at all; The full weight of public humiliation at allowing herself to be manipulated by him, and for what - for this?! She felt like such a fool. Lisbon quietly walked back to her desk, leaving the rest of the team to 'ooh' and 'ah' with Jane, hoping to bury her depressed and humiliated thoughts in the familiar comfort of paperwork.

Armed with the latest case details, Jane had a plan brewing. He was thinking out loud, from his couch, bouncing ideas off of Teresa as she scribbled and typed furiously, at her desk.

"Hmm… Could drive my Airstream down to Gentry… Wanna join me?"

"In that silver bucket? No thanks!" She teased, happy for the opportunity to tweak her favorite jokester about his proud new dwelling.

Patrick sighed. "Welp… Fischer it is, then."

Surprised at his quick decision, Lisbon silently rolled her eyes and walked away.

Jane was inwardly disappointed when Lisbon turned him down, but relieved at the same time. Truth is, he'd set her up. He knew she'd make a wisecrack about the Airstream - at least at first. She would have recanted if he'd pressed her, or she would have eventually insisted on another mode of transportation. But he seized on her initial refusal, deciding on Kim before Teresa could take it back. It worked. This would be another day where Lisbon would be safe from his shortcomings - and it was a good excuse to get closer to Fischer.

The Airstream pulled into Gentry, and Jane was clearly bored. He sighed deeply, momentarily wishing that Kim was someone else. Shaking off the dangerous thought, he laid down for a nap to clear his head.

When he awoke, he looked out the window to see Fischer being all agent-y, and getting nowhere with the Gentry crowd. He'd expected this, he laughed from inside the vehicle, before getting up to see what he could see at the Gadsden Grove farmers market.

It didn't take him long to strike up a friendly conversation with a man by the name of Alex Mildray. Alex was the head of the Gadsden Grove community, and after sharing stories, he had some advice for Jane:

"Can't stay on the road forever Patrick. Gotta let it take you someplace." Mildray imparted, along with an invitation to stay overnight on the compound, offering a spot for the Airstream. "Think about it, huh?"

"You know what? Why not!" Jane whooped with down-home enthusiasm, jumping into the Airstream to follow Mildray's pickup truck to the farm.

Lisbon was left in the whirlwind of the Ardiles mess and her own thoughts. She was only being sarcastic about the Airstream before, giving Jane a hard time, as usual. So, she'd been shocked and disappointed at how quickly he'd replaced her with Kim as his partner for the trip.

He had to have known she was kidding. But who knew what went on in Jane's head - especially these days. She was kicking herself for that mistake the whole time Jane and Fischer were gone. That's another strike, caused by your big mouth and grumpy words, Teresa, she worried. Not only was she irritated at how much she missed him, she was also battling a growing weight in the pit of her stomach.

She couldn't stop thinking about how much flirting had been going on between those two, neither could she forget how Kim had made a point to inquire about Jane's relationship status - multiple times. Maybe she'd misread the seriousness of Jane's date with Kim. Maybe it hadn't been his way of provoking her about Ardiles as much as it had been a product of his true attraction to Fischer?

Fed up with the unwelcome scenes playing on a loop in her head, Lisbon picked up her phone, and dialed Jane's number. He finally picked up on the 5th ring.

"Hey, Lisbon."

"Hey! How's it going down there?"

"Ah, you know… the usual."

Teresa rolled her eyes at the typically cryptic reply. Jane never spelled anything out, at least not before he'd lined up all the dots for his big reveal.

"Are you being nice to Fischer?" She knew that question was a gamble. She didn't particularly want him to be nice to Kim, but thought any other mention of the woman might seem too suspicious.

"We're feeling each other out. I think it's going quite well actually."

Lisbon felt sick. She didn't want to know what he meant by 'feeling each other out.' Why the hell had she even brought it up?! She wished she'd just agreed to go with him. After all, the Rigsbys had the Ardiles thing well in hand, especially with JJ LaRoche helping.

"You ever coming back?"

"Yeah, well… as soon as I figure out who killed Edith Furloch."

"Okay. Be safe."

"Of course, Lisbon. I've got everything under control." Jane crooned confidently.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of!" She couldn't resist the familiar barb. He knew it was a harmless one. At least she hoped so.

After hanging up, Teresa stacked her paperwork, carried it to Abbott's desk, and gathered her things for home.

It was such a silent drive. No senseless badgering from her favorite consultant. No sudden appearances of a trailer in her driveway. No one to pick her lock and appear out of nowhere.

She battled the tightness in her throat and the tug in her heart throughout the evening.

Her sleep was hindered by a single thought that would not leave her mind: Kim had him all to herself tonight. He was probably making love to her that very moment - and maybe not for the first time. They'd spent who knows how many nights together on that island. Lisbon was despondent at the thought.

I bet he's an amazing lover, she daydreamed. God, just the lightest touch of his hand on her back when they were walking anywhere set all of her nerve endings on fire. She couldn't imagine how powerful it would feel to have him brushing his hands, and his lips, and his… other parts… over her bare skin. Just the mere thought was causing an unsafe jump in her blood pressure.

With determination to not be a completely pathetic sap, she shook her head, and did a few yoga breathing exercises Grace had once taught her. Then she got up, showered, and drove in to work for some midnight admin. She did her best to ignore the exhaustion burning in her eyes, and the empty leather couch behind her desk.

Meanwhile, on the Gentry compound, Patrick was in the Airstream alone. He had left without Kim, pulling one of his favorite trickster stunts on her, back at the market. He was sure she would show up eventually. Then he could check to see if her angry eyes held the same captivating sparks that Teresa's always had. Okay, he knew they would never come close, but still wanted to have a look anyway. To get a glimpse into his future limitations.

Despite his excellent planning, he found himself continually slipping into daydreams of Lisbon. The delicious cinnamon scent of her hair. The delicate, yet strong feel of the small of her back beneath his open palm. The potent lightning bolts of care and correction that shone in her eyes when he did something careless or stupid. The —

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The furious pounding that interrupted from his front door nearly shook the whole vehicle.

Ah… Kim was back… It was time to see if her eyes could hold lightning, too. "Showtime!" He said under his breath as he walked to the trailer door.

"Hi Kim!" Patrick smiled, as if nothing was wrong.

"Hi yourself." Kim grumbled angrily, but with no discernible lightning bolts.

"Sorry that I left you. It's just that the head of the farm invited me to stay overnight, so I had to follow the lead."

"Whatever." Fischer mumbled, with a tone that was more filled with resignation than with anger.

Jane tried to provoke a stronger reaction. "Oh, it's not so bad, Kim. Now we're even!"

"Even for what?"

"Even for that power trip you pulled on the New York case!" Jane glimmered.

"Touché." Kim managed a slight sparkle at that comment.

Mmm.. No fireworks… I guess this will have to do, Jane told himself with some disappointment.

Kim got her bag and left immediately, claiming she would find her own way back to Austin.

"Well, that's hardly fair." Jane argued.

"Life's not fair, Patrick." Kim countered evenly, but sternly, as she closed the door behind her.

Back in Austin, Kim gave Abbott an earful about Jane.

"I understand your frustration, Fischer. I know his methods are unusual, but he gets results."

"Dennis, he DITCHED ME!"

"Okay, okay, you're right." The man acquiesced, holding his hands up in surrender to her point. "I'll have a chat with him."

"I mean, where does it end?!" Kim was hopping mad, flailing her arms and pacing the floor. "How far do we bend for this man?!"

Approaching from the bullpen, Lisbon could hear yelling the whole way to Dennis's office. She recognized Kim's voice immediately, and was rather enjoying the knowledge that Jane had apparently abandoned her - no matter the reason. She carefully took the smirk off of her face, and knocked on the door, interrupting Fischer's tirade. Teresa could not wait to see how the request she was about to make on Jane's behalf might affect Kim's mood.

"I just got off the phone with Jane. He says he needs a black helicopter, a convoy of vans and whatever you have that looks most like a tank."

Fischer stood a moment in stunned silence, then walked out, rolling her eyes in disbelief and frustration.

After parading half the hardware they owned to the compound, the FBI, led by Dennis and Cho, were greeted by a half dozen farmers with rifles. The tension rose when a dusty pickup truck arrived, rattling the adrenaline in the air when it backfired, sounding like a gunshot. The agents were surprised to see Jane step out from the passenger side of the truck, standing with the apparent leader, and the farmers, acting as a sort of level-headed intermediary.

"Guys, guys! Why all the guns? Can't we just take a breath here and talk it out?" Jane walked toward the mob, hands up, joined by Mildray.

"He's right." Alex agreed, with a plea to his neighbors for peace.

"Whaddaya say?" Abbott's voice broke in. "Care to tell your people to let us do our jobs?"

"I speak for the farm, but I don't decide." Mildray explained. "Let me talk to them all and see."

Abbott saw the usual look of confidence on Jane's face, and nodded almost imperceptibly to his undercover consultant. "You have one hour to talk your residents into peaceful surrender to our search and questioning, in regards to our murder investigation. After that hour we ARE coming in, whether they like it or not. Understand?" Dennis spoke with authority.

Alex nodded, then he and Jane gathered the residents in a barn the grove kept for meetings and storage. Jane took Mildray aside, convincing him that he had a plan that would appease the agents outside the gate whilst making Alex look like a hero at the end. The man nodded, and announced to the gathered crowd that Jane had the floor.

Patrick surprised everyone right away - especially Alex - when he admitted to being with the FBI.

"I am with them, but not of them," he clarified.

After that shocking statement, though, it took him only minutes to identify the murderer in the room. A woman named Rachel had been a client of Edith Furloch's back in the 70's. Edith had been to the farm on an unrelated matter, but had recognized the woman after so many years, despite her having changed her name. The attorney had offered to help her come out of hiding, but when Rachel realized that would mean turning herself in, she panicked and killed Furloch, thus ensuring her location and true identity would remain a secret.

After the arrest, Jane went in search of Kim, back at the FBI. He caught up with her in a file room, organizing case paperwork - A very Lisbon-like trait, he thought. He could cling to that, as he trained himself to eventually love Kim.

"Hi." He started, somewhat timidly, gauging the temperature of Kim's mood.

"What do you want?" She replied, without inflection.

"I just wanted to apologize again for leaving you out there with no ride." Jane answered, eyebrows up in his typical 'innocent' look.

"I understand - all in the line of duty." Still no emotion.

"Yeah…well I did get you that thing you want." He sparkled a smile as he reached behind her ear, making the wand appear like magic from behind her.

He saw immediately that the trick had worked.

"How did you…?" Kim softened right away, jaw open and eyes sparkling, any consternation she may have still been harboring turned quickly to awe and amazement.

Pleased at having calmed the tension that had been hanging between them, Patrick left, saying he was off to take a nap.

Catching the whole exchange from just outside the door - arms filled with her own paperwork from the San Francisco happenings - Teresa entered the filing room just after Jane left it. She had seen Kim open that wand on the day Jane had showered everyone with presents, but Kim didn't know that. Lisbon decided to take this opportunity to do some detecting on the down-low.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Jane gave it to me"

"Jane gave you a wand?"

"When I was a girl, I thought I could change so many things if I just had one of these…"

"Did it work?

"No idea. I never got one."

As she'd suspected. A meaningful filling of an emotional cavern from Fischer's past. No doubt endearing him to her. As Lisbon filed her papers, Kim was going on about all the things she had hoped to use the wand for, back in the day.

"So… do ya think it works?" Lisbon asked.

"No!" Kim answered quickly, waving it off. "I think it's all nonsense, of course."

"Of course." Lisbon left, with a smile - skeptical about Kim's skepticism.

Glancing back through the window, as she turned down the hall, Teresa caught a glance of Jane, standing at a distance, entranced, watching Kim wave the wand. It hurt to see how fully his face lit up at Fischer and her happiness. She missed that warm grin. Lisbon took a cleansing breath, then walked through the open elevator doors, ready for home.